toys

By the time Spyro: The Dragon was released in 1998, I was beyond its demographic. To me, the franchise has always skewed to the younger set. The succeeding adventures never interested me. It rose to prominence toward the tail end of the original PlayStation’s lifespan, and by then, I had moved on to other consoles.

But it’s a series that has a strong following, one that’s justified several sequels and one major reboot. Now once again, Spyro’s is getting another makeover and judging from fan reaction, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure hasn’t entirely been positive. (That’s putting it kindly.)

Fans who grew up with the series may have expected the purple dragon to age with them, but Toys for Bob has decided to keep Spyro for the younger set.

Unless you’re these guys and you build your own Warthog, this remote-controlled car is the closest thing to having your own Halo vehicle. Coming in late September just in time forHalo 3: ODST, this toy made by NKOK comes with a Master Chief and Blue Spartan figurine. The turret on the back is moveable, and best of all, the thing moves at 7 mph, which is pretty fast for an RC vehicle. But I’m sure the big collectors out there won’t take the car out of the box. And by the way, it’ll run you $24.99.

And if the Warthog ain’t your thing, NKOK also built a M274 Mongoose and an AV-14 Attack VTOL Hornet. The Mongoose comes with a Master Chief figurine while the Hornet sadly doesn’t have a Master Chief. The Mongoose sells for $24.99 while the Hornet is the most expensive of the bunch at $34.99.

Yes, those are prototype toys for Army of Two stars Rios and Salem. I was about to grab them from their shelf and pose with those babies in my arms. But after a mad rush and a “Noooo!” from a publicist, I backed off. The prototypes were very delicate, but they did look very nice.

Taking place in Shanghai in the middle of a military conflict, the game puts Rios and Salem in a crumbling city and all they have to do is get out alive. The 40th Day has everything you would expect from a natural disaster flick: collapsing buildings, crowds sprinting through the streets, debris lying everywhere.